* Con: Group Says the Religious
Liberty Protection Act is A Bad Idea
* Pro: Group Says the Religious Liberty Protection Act is A Good
Idea
* 9th Circuit Overruled by Supreme Court 96.4% of the Time
* Air Force Nominee Rejected; Editorialist Urges Rejection of
Ambassadorial Nominee in Grounds of "Religious Intolerance"
* Campaign Reform Amendments Reviewed
* Analyst Raises Concerns with "No Second Chances" Bill
* Puerto Rico and Oklahoma: Two Peas in a Pod
* National Center for Public Policy Research Recent Releases

Activities at the July 22 Strategy Lunch
chaired by Amy Ridenour of The National Center for Public Policy
Research, House Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Rep. Ernest
Istook (R-OK).

Con: Group Says the Religious Liberty
Protection Act is A Bad Idea

Mike Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Association delivered
a presentation in opposition to Rep. Charles Canady (R-FL)'s HR
4019, the Religious Liberty Protection Act, providing background
on this issue and saying that the bill "betrays conservative
principles" and that to endorse it is to "endorse the
era of big government." He listed four reasons why he believes
the bill is bad: 1) It discriminates against small religions/churches;
2) It will be ineffective; 3) "If the churches take the bait
of this bill, we are just an arm of commerce," and passage
of the bill is likely to lead to eventual government taxation
of churches; 4) The bill is unconstitutional, as even some of
its proponents admit. Farris, a lawyer, also said that passage
of a bill linking the defense of religion to the strength of the
commerce clause would force lawyers defending religious institutions
to push the power of the commerce clause as far as possible. Farris's
group has just mailed 60,000 first class letters across the country
explaining problems with the bill. Farris distributed materials.
Contact Mike Farris at 202/547-9222 or 540/338-5600, or visit
his web site at http://www.hslda.org
for more information on the legislation.

Pro: Group Says the Religious Liberty
Protection Act is A Good Idea

Patrick Nolan of Justice Fellowship (the public policy arm
of Prison Fellowship) delivered a presentation in favor of HR
4019, the Religious Liberty Protection Act, saying that the bill
provides a venue for religious people to defend themselves from
government. He cited several reasons why a defense is needed,
including situations in which Christian day care centers have
not been permitted to hire only Christians, in which Bible study
groups in private homes have been broken up by local governments
under zoning ordinances, and in which prisoners have been forbidden
to take Bibles with them to Bible study. Nolan said that the fact
that the constitution's commerce clause is used to protect religious
people "doesn't taint" the protection effort, noting
that churches do frequently participate in interstate commerce
when they purchase items for church use. Nolan said that he respects
Mike Farris and would prefer not to disagree with him, but that
in this case he does, and so does Jim Dobson (Focus on the Family),
Gary Bauer (Family Research Council), Don Hodel (Christian Coalition)
and Chuck Colson (Prison Fellowship). Contact Pat Nolan at 703/904-7312
or visit http://www.justicefellowship.org
for more information on the legislation.

9th Circuit Overruled by Supreme Court
96.4% of the Time

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), updated participants on the confirmation
of federal judges. He particularly discussed the 9th Circuit (western
U.S.), which, he said, was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court
27 out of 28 times in 1997. Sessions noted that the New York
Times has reported that most of the U.S. Supreme Court regards
the 9th Circuit as a "rouge circuit." Sessions said
that he will be giving heightened scrutiny in the Senate to 9th
Circuit nominees, and if the nominee won't move this circuit toward
the middle, Sessions will vote "no." Contact Senator
Sessions at 202/224-4124. (For more information on the pace of
confirmations, visit http://www.freecongress.org/.)

Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) reported on the rejection of the
nomination of Daryl Jones to be Secretary of the Air Force and
on the nomination of James Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg.
On the latter point, he recommended that participants read an
editorial in the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill, by Albert
Eisele. Inhofe identified Eisele as a liberal who nonetheless
opposes confirming Hormel. In the piece, Eisele says that confirmation
of Hormel would amount to "a shameful acceptance of religious
intolerance." Contact Senator Inhofe via Gary Hoitsma at
202/224-4721. For a copy of The Hill editorial only, contact
Dalmer Samater at (202) 507-6398.

Campaign Reform Amendments Reviewed

House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) discussed the continuing
debate over campaign reform in the House and the ongoing efforts
of his staff to protect freedom of speech. DeLay described various
amendments that will be voted on on the House floor, including
those of Rep. Linda Smith (R-WA), which, he said, would make voter
guides illegal; Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY)'s amendment, which says
that one must be a citizen of the United States to participate
in campaigns; another amendment which dictates a mandatory sentence
of a year in prison for violating campaign laws; an amendment
by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to repeal motor-voter and require
proof of citizenship to vote (DeLay stressed that this amendment
is not a national ID card amendment); an amendment by Rep. Anne
Northrup (R-KY) to ban walking-around money. DeLay said that the
best thing for proponents of freedom of speech would be if the
Shays-Meehan bill was defeated outright, which, he said, was possible.
For an overview of current House action on campaign reform, visit
http://www.nationalcenter.org/CampaignUpdate5.html.
Contact Rep. DeLay via Autumn Hanna at 202/225-0197.

Analyst Raises Concerns with "No
Second Chances" Bill

Tom Jipping of the Free Congress Foundation distributed a memorandum
expressing opposition to HR 4258, the "No Second Chances"
bill (for a review of the bill's provisions, see Scoop
#191). Jipping opposes the bill on several grounds, including,
as his memo says, the fact that "the federal government certainly
has no delegated power to dictate criminal sentences for individuals
convicted under state criminal laws." Jipping also says the
bill fails to take into account situations in which states release
criminals early because of a mandate from a federal judge, and
raises other concerns. Contact Tom Jipping at 202/546-3000 (http://www.freecongress.org).

Puerto Rico and Oklahoma: Two Peas in
a Pod

Jim Boulet of English First discussed a secret meeting being
held for Republican Senators only on the issue of statehood for
Puerto Rico. He also discussed, with a degree of incredulity,
claims by some Puerto Rico statehood proponents that, if Puerto
Rico was admitted as a state, it's Congressional delegation would
vote the way Oklahoma's does. Contact Jim Boulet at 703/321-8818
or [email protected],
or visit http://www.englishfirst.org
to read English First fact sheets in opposition to statehood for
Puerto Rico. *

Scoop is published by The National Center
for Public Policy Research to provide information about the activities
of the conservative movement. Coverage of a meeting or statement
in Scoop does not imply endorsement by The National Center for
Public Policy Research. Copyright 1998 The National Center for
Public Policy Research. Reprints of articles in Scoop permitted
provided source is credited. ###